SA checking on 'terrorist'

2004-07-26 17:51

Johannesburg - The foreign affairs department said on Monday it could not confirm that one of three suspects who were arrested in Pakistan for alleged involvement in terrorism was a South African.

Spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the government had taken note of media reports and official comments from Pakistan government about the incident.

"We are in a process through our diplomatic mission in Pakistan of verifying the nationality of those detained to enable us to determine the course of action," he said.

He said the department's diplomatic mission liaised with the Pakistani authorities.

Earlier, it was reported that the three terror suspects who were captured in a raid on a suspected terrorist hide-out in eastern Pakistan were from South Africa, Kenya and Sudan.

However, it was not clear whether they had any links with al-Qaeda.

The suspects, along with six children and three women - all foreigners - were captured by police and intelligence agents during a raid on a house in the industrial city of Gujrat on Sunday.

Pakistan authorities had recovered two AK-47 rifles, plastic chemicals, two computers, computer discs, and a "large amount" of foreign currency.

- SAPA